Convenience
by BJArthur
Summary: EDITED 4.21.09 Remus Lupin doesn't know the first thing about being a parent. Ginny Weasley is the only mother his son knows. Post-War, innocent, and more then likely completed.


the second in my new Alphabet Collection (the first being Diatribe). no, i don't think i'll be going in alphabetical order, though. i don't know when the next one will be, either. **Convenience** and **Diatribe **aren't connected in any way, really, unless you count Ginny Weasley being one of the main characters. obviously, only Tonks died in the final battle, not Moony.

nothing you recognize is mine.

UPDATED AS OF 4.21.09: i edited it, added somethings.... hopefully this is a bit better. :)

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Convenience: the quality of being or making things easy, useful or of increasing comfort.

"_Thank _you for coming, Ginny," Remus said, backing away from the fire place as the soot-covered red-head stumbled out and onto the mat in front of it. "I didn't exactly know who else to call."

"Well, my mother, for one," Ginny grumbled, brushing herself off, "or Andromeda. Both of them are much better skilled at child-rearing then I am, old friend."

"I know but… well, you're the only one that can calm him down. You're… well, you're a natural with him, Gin." Ginny sighed; Remus looked so lost and helpless, and poor Teddy's cries from the other room sounded so sad that she couldn't stay mad for long.

After Tonks was taken down in the final battle at Hogwarts, Remus was left raising his infant son basically by him self. Ginny had made the suggestion that she watch him a few days or nights out of the year, sort of helping out around the house, and Remus had jumped on the opportunity. He knew nothing about being a father to a baby; children 11 and up he could handle, but a 2 month old? That had been three years ago. Ginny, now nearly 20, would have thought that Remus had connected to his son after so long. But Teddy was still wailing in his room, so Ginny ignored her aggravation at the older werewolf and went to see what was wrong. She found the boy on the floor next to his bed, curled some-what into a ball and holding his hand.

"Teddy," Ginny knelt to the floor, "sweetheart, what's wrong?" Immediately the boy shot up and flung his arms around Ginny's neck, his hair turning from a dusty, mousey brown to Weasley red. "Teddy, darling, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's _wrong_." Ginny's hands rubbed the small boy's back in a soothing manner, trying to help him calm down.

"I-I ste-epped on m-my fingers," his young voice stuttered. "Th-then daddy y-yelled at m-me!"

"Oh, sweetheart." Ginny frowned and sat, manoeuvring so that she could pull Teddy into her lap. "Baby, I don't think daddy was yelling at _you_. Daddy doesn't know what to do when you start crying, so he gets confused and that makes him yell. But then he gets smart and calls for _me _to come over." She ran her lips over the boys head as he quieted down. "Can I see your hand, baby?" A red, podgy hand shot up under her nose. Ginny chuckled and inspected it.

"Hmmm, it _looks _okay," she played with the little fingers, eliciting a giggle from the boy, "it _works _okay," bringing the hand up to her mouth, she gently nibbled on it causing a gale of laughter from Teddy, "and it _tastes _okay too. I think you'll live." Ginny smoothed a hand over the boy's bright red hair. "You're a good boy, Teddy; daddy just doesn't know what to do, sometimes. But he _loves _you."

The child sighed with contentment and snuggled closer.

"I wish you could be here all the time, Ginny. Can you be my mummy?"

It wasn't the first time Teddy had asked her that question, and it pained her every time she answered it.

"I'd _love _to be your mummy, baby, but that's not the way these things go. They're very complicated and take a very long time."

"Why don't you want to be Teddy's mother?" came a voice from the doorway. Ginny turned and saw Remus standing there, an unreadable expression on his scared face, his eyes glittering with something vast and unknown. "You're good at it and you love him, and it's obvious he loves you too. I can't do this by myself, Ginny, and I can't think of any one better. It's _right_, with you as his mother." Ginny gaped; where did all this come from? "I'll marry you," he said, his voice a little hard, a little desperate.

"Remus, I don't think _this _is the time for…" It was obvious by the look on Remus' face that he wasn't going to stop, so Ginny shifted the boy out of her lap and stood. "_No_; I'm not marrying any one. Not now, anyway. It_ isn't_ right to marry just so a child will have a mother, Remus; a person has to marry for _love_."

"But it _will _be for love," Remus fought as she moved past him and back to the living room, "it'll be for love of _Teddy_. You _do _love him, don't you? And you love _me_, as a friend?"

"Of _course _I love Teddy, Remus; you should know better then to ask. He's like my own. But Remus, I…"

"Ginny _please_." Remus' eyes, a bright gold, pleaded with her. "Teddy needs a mother and it isn't fair to you if I keep asking you to stop what you're doing to come and care for him when I don't know what to do. Teddy _needs _you, and _I_ need your help. I'll never ask you for anything, Ginny," he added softly, seeing the internal battle waging within her. "I just…. I just need you here; _he _needs you here."

She had always thought of Teddy as her own. From the first moment Remus had placed the squalling infant into her young arms, she had felt a kind of connection with the boy, the kind a natural mother feels with their babe. It would be a bit of a dream come true if she got to keep him all the time, if he really did call her his mum. But there were so many other things to think about, like the memory of Tonks and what Andromeda would think. What would her family think if she married for any reason other then love? What would they do during the full moon? But there was one question that screamed inside of her head louder then any of the others.

"What if I fall in love with someone _else_, Remus?" she whispered, scared and unsure. "What if I marry you, but then meet someone I want to start a family with? What _then_? Do I leave Teddy and divorce you?" Remus frowned, but moved closer to her. She could feel his heat through her clothes, his breath across her cheek, though they did not touch.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Ginny. Just… _please_?"

Ginny's dark brown eyes flitted between his bright amber ones, confused and frightened. Teddy needed her, yes, and Remus needed help too. Was she willing to compromise her future, her happiness, in a loveless marriage just so that she could legally help raise a child who wasn't even her own? What about when she started to want her _own _kids? Would she have them with Remus? Would raising Teddy and watching him grow be enough? Was his happiness and well being worth enough to give up the possibility of finding a true love to call her own? And what about Harry? He had said that he was coming back to her once he was finished Auror training; was she just supposed to leave him before he ever got the chance to fight for her? What would he do when he found out that she had married the last of his father's friends instead of waiting for something that may or may not happen? If she agreed, what would her family think? What would her friends say? Would she get the wedding she had dreamed of as a young girl or would they just waltz into cold Ministry to stand in line for a licence and certificate?

Ginny was brought out of her thoughts and fears by a small tug on her sleeve. Looking down she saw Teddy, the sweet boy in question, looking at her with the soulful eyes of his father. They looked right with the bright red hair and freckles he adopted whenever he was around her; he looked like a perfect combination of his father and the woman he wanted as his mother.

"Ginny," he said, his voice small and pleading, "Ginny, _please _be my mummy."

Ginny's throat closed and her liquid brown eyes filled with tears. She couldn't say 'no' to him, not any more. Scooping Teddy up into a hug, she held him tight and buried her nose in his soft hair, brushing a kiss against his temple.

"_Yes_, baby," her eyes shot to Remus, "I'll be your mummy."

A look of relief underscored with gratitude and something else, something she couldn't name, flashed across the werewolf's face before he gathered both woman and child against him.

"It'll be _good_, Ginevra," came his husky whisper into her ear. "I _promise _I'll make it good."

Ginny could only hope he was right.

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so, how was it? too confusing? i don't think so; the only thing that i might've actually gotten wrong was how old Teddy was at the time of the final battle. and yes, if Ginny was 16 then, she'd be 19, almost 20, three years later. i think that this one seems like there should be more added to it, another chapter or so, but it came to me as is and i think i'll keep it that way. unless, of course, y'all can convince me otherwise and help me with where it should go. i honestly have no idea. ah well. hope y'all liked it anyway!

EDIT DETAILS: so i added some things, didn't really take too much out...... i know y'all said that it needed a bit extra (though no one really told me _what_, which kinda grates on my nerves, to be honest). try to be more specific, hey? i can't fix anything if y'all don't tell me what's wrong!!


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